The 2011 Kentucky Derby

I don't know much about the Derby, but for the past several years one of our investment club gals, Ms. Gaye :), has driven down with her hubby to enjoy the races.  The spend a few days and have a rip-roaring good time!  I haven't watched the race for the past few years but I will, later today.  I'll have to check local listings but it looks like the Derby race will be held at 5:30 p.m. local time (Milwaukee). 

Here is this year's Derby line-up, courtesy of Louisville dot com information on Kentucky Derby: 

Derby horse previews

Kentucky Derby 137 runs later today at Churchill Downs: here are the horses, jockeys and trainers, and morning line odds. Select a link for more information on the horse.

1. Archarcharch, Court/Fires, 10-1
2. Brilliant Speed, Rosario/Albertrani, 30-1
3. Twice the Appeal, Borel/Bonde, 20-1
4. Stay Thirsty, Dominguez/Pletcher, 20-1
5. Decisive Moment, Clark/Arias, 30-1
6. Comma to the Top, Valenzuela/P. Miller, 30-1
7. Pants On Fire, Napravnik/Breen, 20-1
8. Dialed In, Leparoux/Zito, 4-1
9. Derby Kitten, Castellano/Maker, 30-1
10. Twinspired, Smith/Maker, 30-1
11. Master of Hounds, Gomez/O'Brien, 30-1
12. Santiva, Bridgmohan/Kenneally, 30-1
13. Mucho Macho Man, Maragh/Ritvo, 12-1
14. Shackleford, Castanon/Romans, 12-1
15. Midnight Interlude, Espinoza/Baffert, 10-1
16. Animal Kingdom, Velazquez/Motion, 30-1
17. Soldat, A.Garcia/McLaughlin, 12-1
18. Uncle Mo, Velazquez/Repole Stable, 9-2
19. Nehro, Nakatani/Asmussen,  6-1
20. Watch Me Go, Bejarano/O'Connell, 50-1

Stakes races

Derby, of course, is just the 11th out of 13 races today. We'll be recapping all of today's graded stakes races (races six through 11). Select a link to go to that race's recap (sorry, we only post the results after the race).

• Race 6: Twin Spires Turf Sprint, 1:19 p.m.
• Race 7: Churchill Downs 2:08 p.m.
• Race 8: Churchill Distaff Turf Mile, 2:59 p.m.
• Race 9: Humana Distaff, 3:51 p.m.
• Race 10: Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, 4:46 p.m.
• Race 11: Kentucky Derby, 6:30 p.m.

Okay - so who do I like?  I've no idea, just going by the names, darlings, like I always do the rare times I actually bet the horses:  Archarcharch - a yes; Pants on Fire - a no; Santiva - I really like that name, hope the horse does well; Mucho Macho Man - are you kidding me?  Thumbs down!; Midnight Interlude - ooooohhhhh! Love the name!  Want this horse to place well; Nehro - meh.  Don't care for the name, too much like Nero, and we all know how that fool acted back in the day. 

Updated 7:01 p.m.:

Don't hire me as a psychic.  Two of the horses I panned for their crappy names finished 2-3.  Archarcharch got injured.  He's got a leg fracture but I just read that it is "not life threatening" which is good ot know.  I hate the thought of any horse having to be killed because he or she is injured in a race.

Here are the horses in order of finish (none of the names I mentioned placed in 1-2-3):

Animal Kingdom
Nehro
Mucho Macho Man
Shackleford
Master of Hounds
Santiva
Brilliant Speed
Dialed In
Pants On Fire
Twice The Appeal
Soldat
Stay Thirsty
Derby Kitten
Decisive Moment
Archarcharch
Midnight Interlude
Twinspired
Watch Me Go
Comma to the Top